1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates generally to databases and more specifically to supporting replication of database data of heterogeneous data type.
2. Background Art
A replication agent allows an organization using a database to replicate information in data sources to other databases. For example, a replication agent replicates data from a primary database to a replicate database. After replication, the replicate database contains accurate and current copies of the subsets of data found in the primary database. When a table in the primary database is marked for replication, replication agent replicates transactions that manipulate the marked table.
Data stored in a source or primary database may be stored in columns of various data types, such as a Boolean data type, integer data type, binary data type, etc. However, certain databases allow columns with heterogeneous data types. Data stored in a column of heterogeneous data type may vary between different data formats. Therefore, what is needed are systems, methods, and computer program products that allow a replication agent to properly replicate heterogeneous data without modifying the underlying data.